Mothballed housing schemes to restart

A developer today announced plans to begin work on new or mothballed housing schemes across the north west as figures showed the number of private homes being built in the region rose by 60 per cent in the first three months of the year compared with the previous quarter, to reach the highest level since early 2008. Keepmoat Homes said the projects would include ones in Greater Manchester and East Lancashire.

A developer today announced plans to begin work on new or mothballed housing schemes across the north west as figures showed the number of private homes being built in the region rose by 60 per cent in the first three months of the year compared with the previous quarter, to reach the highest level since early 2008.

Keepmoat Homes said the projects would include ones in Greater Manchester and East Lancashire.

The firm will construct 64 houses at Oliver’s Court, Werneth, Oldham, and 30 at Abbey Court in Little Hulton.

It will also begin developments at Acorn Park, Accrington, and Burnley Wood, Burnley.

David Wroe, Keepmoat Homes’ north west regional director, said: “We are planning a significant increase in activity across all the regions in which we work.”

He said the private sector housing market was showing ‘clear signs’ of recovery although it remains fragile.

Figures from the Department of Communities and Local Government showed there were 2,450 new home starts in the region in the first three months of 2010, up from 1,540 in the previous quarter.

However, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors cautioned that there was still a long way to go to reach pre-credit crunch levels.

News of the apparent upturn in the market comes after the M.E.N. reported that 37 separate housing schemes have been frozen after a £30m government grant was put ‘under review’ by the new coalition.

The official data showed that 2,710 homes were completed in the period, the lowest quarterly level for over a decade.

John Halman, RICS’ north west housing spokesman, said planning moratoriums over recent years had resulted in a large number of apartment schemes but had restricted housing projects.

Now, with the recession at an end, lenders have ‘little or no’ appetite to fund new developments, making it difficult for builders to contemplate schemes unless land can be bought cheaply.

Mr Halman, of Wilmslow firm Gascoigne Halman, said it could be two or three years before there is a ready supply of new houses.